Whispers of Home (9 page)

Travis just let him ramble, smiling up at him, slowly reeling him in closer to Travis’ lap like he was a big fish. Jaron landed on Travis’s lap with absolutely no finesse whatsoever. That’s what finally got Jaron to shut his big rambling mouth. Well, that, and the look in Travis’s eyes that made Jaron feel like he was the only person in the world that Travis saw. That look made him feel cherished for the first time in his life.

Jaron met Travis half way for the kiss that was so tender it melted the walls around his heart. There was a little puddle now just at the base. Travis worked his tongue around the rim of Jaron’s lips, opening him up. Jaron allowed him access and sank into a kiss so incredible there was no going back.

No, Jaron gave over to it. Whether Travis broke his heart or not was irrelevant. Jaron was surrendering. Yes, the white flag went up. He would continue to surrender until Travis decided he was through. And he would be at some point. Jaron had no illusions about that. Travis was, after all, the biggest player in this town. It was just a matter of time, but Jaron just did not care.

He would have to be careful though. He couldn’t expose Bobby to the hurt of Travis leaving. Bobby did not need any more abandonment issues than what Tracy’s death already gave him.

Jaron broke away from the kiss, a little breathless, and a lot hard. “You are very good at kissing.”

Travis chuckled, than became serious. “This will happen again.”

Jaron smiled. “Good because I really liked it.”

“No, I mean the fighting. This town is full of Brad’s.”

“Travis, did you forget who you were talking too? I know this better than just about everyone. But I’m not hiding who I am. I can’t do that and never could. I mean, you met me. You know how gay I am. If people don’t like it, well, then they don’t. There is nothing I can do about the Brad’s of the world. And there is nothing you can do either.”

“I’m not gonna just let someone threaten you.” Travis’ jaw clenched and his eyes turned cold.

“Brad has been threatening me since middle school. I’m just really glad you’re on my side.”

“I will always be on your side.” Travis pulled Jaron in closer. Their chests connected. His cheek rubbed the side of Jaron’s face and Jaron heard him inhale, as if he was drinking in Jaron’s scent.

Jaron sucked in a breath. “Nobody has before.” He had battled as a child. No one was willing to step up before, not even his best friend. To have someone stand beside him now, and to have it be Travis Heath, gave him faith in his decision to move back home.

“You have more friends in this town than you think, baby.”

“I’m learning that.” Jaron smiled.

Surprisingly enough, Travis didn’t say anything for the longest time. Finally, Travis said, “Why did you kiss Brian?”

“First of all, calm that green monster of yours. It was just on the cheek.” Jaron could tell Travis to mind his own business. Jaron’s friendships really were none of Travis’ concern. But he decided to answer him as best as he could. “I miss him. I didn’t realize how much until I saw him again.”

“Were you ever...” Travis trailed off.

“Intimate? Yes, although not as fully as you’re thinking.” Jaron was silent for several minutes. “It was like a part of me stayed with him even though I physically left. It’s hard to explain.”

“You loved him,” Travis said. It wasn’t a question.

“Very much. I just couldn’t bring myself to stay. Not even for him. Maybe because of him. I don’t know. I felt closed in by everything, like I lived in the dark. He was the one bright spot for me.” Jaron wasn’t sure if he should be telling Travis all this but he plunged ahead anyway. “I snuck out of the house the night I left town. I must have stood outside his house for an hour before I finally got him to come to the window and talk.”

“Did he know you were planning to leave?”

“Yeah, he just didn’t know when until that exact moment. He begged me to stay.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I wanted to be Jaron. Not Jaron and Brian. I thought I wanted away from everything in this shitty little town, including him. Does that make me selfish?”

Travis cupped his hand around Jaron’s cheek. “Only if you were in love with him.”

“I loved him but not enough to be with him. So no, I wasn’t in love with him.”

“What about now?”

“What about it?”

“You kissed him.”

Jaron rolled his eyes. “On the cheek.” Jaron stood up and walked to the other end of the small kitchen. He needed to be away from Travis or he was seriously going to hit him. He leaned against the counter facing the room, his hands gripping the counter. “I will always love him. He was the one and only person who was willing to be my friend.”

“What does that mean for us?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

“Come here. I can’t show you what I want with you way over there.”

Jaron slowly walked over to Travis. Travis gently pulled him onto his lap again, bringing their mouths together in a kiss. This time the kiss was possessive. Jaron’s cock was instantly hard, making him moan in wanton pleasure. He ground against Travis to get some relief. Jaron soon discovered that Travis was just as hard as he was. This knowledge made Jaron even crazier with desire.

“Take out my cock,” Travis whispered into his mouth. Jaron became very good at following directions in that moment. Unbuttoning and unzipping Travis’ tight jeans proved to be frustrating as all hell, until he helped Jaron along. He finally had Travis in his hand, slowly caressing the silky skin up and down in an erotic rhythm. Jaron climbed off his lap and knelt on the kitchen floor at his feet. He brought his mouth level with the most gorgeous cock he had ever seen. He trailed a tongue up it until he got to the crown, only then did he suck it into his mouth. Jaron slowly came back up and then down again, making Travis moan in pleasure. Jaron could taste the pre-come on the back of his tongue. It was quite possibly the best thing he had ever tasted.

He had waited years, harboring a secret crush on Travis Heath for so long and now here he was with the man’s cock in his mouth. Travis clearly was trying very hard to keep the sexy sounds he was making to a minimum. Jaron could tell it was hard for him though. He hummed as he bobbed on the man’s cock, wanting to taste his cum. Jaron was so close to cumming. He fought to unbutton his jeans, gripping his cock with his right hand even as he braced himself with his left hand, clamping it on to Travis’s thick thigh.

“I’m gonna come. Pull off.” That was all it took. Jaron sucked harder, shutting his eyes tight as he came into his hand. Travis came with a grunt. Jaron’s muffled moans soon gave way as he tried to drink down all of Travis’s cum.

Travis pulled Jaron into his lap once again, hugging him tight. “You should have pulled off.”

“Didn’t want too.”

“Well, I’m clean. I just had a physical two months ago and was tested. Haven’t been with anyone since,” Travis reassured.

“I’m clean too.”

“When were you tested?”

“It’s been over a year ago. But I haven’t been with anyone in almost four years.”

“Wow. Okay, I’ve never sucked a cock before and I don’t think I’ll be as good at it as you. I’d like to try though. Just give me a minute to recover.”

Jaron’s cock twitched in interest. “I don’t think I’ll be able to get it up again. I need more than a minute.” Jaron smiled against Travis’s chest. “I came when you did.”

“You came from just sucking my cock? That is so hot.”

Jaron giggled as he stood up and went to the sink. He washed the come off his hand then climbed back onto Travis’s lap, after zipping his pants back up. Snuggling into his chest, Travis just sat there holding on to Jaron. It wasn’t until Gloria entered the kitchen that either of them moved at all.

Gloria got a cup from the cabinet to the right of the sink and filled it with tap water. She drank from it, then put it on the counter beside her. Jaron knew when his mother turned around and leaned against the counter with her arms folded in front of her, closed off from him, and the mom glare in her eyes that she would have her say. He just didn’t know what would come out of her mouth. But he was positive that whatever it was he would not like it.

“I expected you home later than this.” She made it sound like a bad thing he was home early.

“Mom, this is Travis. Travis, my mother, Gloria.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. McAllister.”

“Yes, well. What happened?” she asked, gesturing to the frozen peas Jaron returned to Travis’ face.

Travis opened his mouth to tell her but Jaron beat him to it. “Nothing, mom. It was no big deal.”

“Okay, fine. Then maybe you can tell me what you are doing in my kitchen sitting on some stranger’s lap.”

“Travis is not a stranger.” If she thought sitting on Travis’s lap was bad then she probably didn’t want to be around for the blow job he just gave the cowboy not twenty minutes ago.

“You haven’t been back long enough for him to be anything else. Should I remind you about the little boy in your bed right now? He needs you.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t make this about Bobby when we both know it has nothing to do with him.” Jaron stood up then. Travis still had a hand on his waist but otherwise released him without saying a word.

“Just what is that supposed to mean.”

“You stand there and pretend to know me when you don’t know the first thing about me.”

“I know you have always been immature Jaron Arthur McAllister. And I am still your mother. So you better watch the way you talk to me.”

“No. You are the woman who emotionally left, when dad physically did. You buried yourself in work. Do you want to know what made me leave that day after graduation, mother. I left because only one person even wanted me in this town. I had one person give a crap whether I lived or died and that person was not you.”

His mother went pale. “You thought I didn’t care?”

“I know you didn’t. I was just a mouth you had to feed. Nothing more. You think I’m being a bad parent because I care about someone else. Look in the God damn mirror, Mother. Don’t you pay attention? Bobby is my whole damn life. Why can’t you see that?”

“I do see that.”

“Then why can’t you be supportive? I’m not dad, damn it!” Gloria stood there, with her back to the kitchen sink, looking at some point of reference on the kitchen floor, Jaron didn’t think she was going to answer his question or acknowledge him after he shouted at her. It wasn’t until she whispered, “I’m afraid that you’ll leave me again,” that Jaron realized she was trying to figure out for herself why she was giving him such a hard time. She had no idea until the moment the words came out of her mouth, Jaron was sure of it.

Jaron sighed. He stepped away from Travis, the hand at his waist leaving. He felt less brave now that the physical connection with the other man was severed. Jaron sucked in some much needed air and put his arms around his mom in a hug. His mom felt fragile. For the first time in his life Jaron was what his mom needed. “Mom, I’m here. Bobby’s here now. We both love and need you. I’m not leaving this town again.”

“I love you, too. I should have said that more to you when you were a child. I don’t know why I didn’t. I always felt it. Always.”

“Well, now you have your chance to say it as often as you want. I promise, mom, I will never fall off the grid again.”

Travis woke up to big blue eyes staring at him from across the coffee table. “Hi,” he said to Bobby, from his horizontal position. He was afraid to sit up. He knew he would probably move like an old man after spending the night on Jaron’s couch.

“Why are you sleeping there?” Bobby asked. Leave it to a kid to get right down to the bones of it all.

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Because I needed a place to sleep.”

“I always sleep with Daddy. He likes to snuggle. You can sleep with him too. He calls me his snuggle bear.” Bobby giggled at this last little bit of information.

Travis smiled at the boy, but otherwise didn’t say anything. He would love nothing more than to curl up next to his man, but the angel with the big blue eyes didn’t need to see that just yet. Bobby truly did look like an angel too, quite literally, except without the wings and halo. But Travis could imagine both. Bobby had this light about him that was ethereal.

“Come on.” Bobby grabbed onto Travis’ finger and tugged, until Travis was sitting up on the couch. Yep, his body was telling him to never sleep on this couch again. Bobby kept tugging until Travis was standing and then tugged him across the room.

“Where are we going?” he asked the little boy who led him around the house to the kitchen.

“You can make me cereal,” Bobby said as he released Travis and sat in the same kitchen chair Travis had sat in last night. “I want the chocolate kind.”

“Chocolate, huh?” Travis proceeded to open cabinets until he came to the one with three boxes of cereal lining the shelves. Travis grabbed the cereal from the shelf and rummaged around for a spoon and bowl. After pouring the cereal and then milk in the bowl, he placed the bowl in front of Bobby and sat down at the table with him.

“I’m in kindergarten,” Bobby said between bites.

“Do you like it?”

Bobby just shrugged. “I like Mackenzie. He’s our class hamster.”

“So you like animals?”

“Oh yes. And I like Daddy.”

“What kind of animal is he?”

Bobby giggled. “He’s not an animal, silly.”

“I like your daddy too.”

“You do?”

“Yep. Is that okay with you?”

“I guess so. That just means you’re gonna be nice to him. Cuz if you like someone then your nice to them. If you don’t like someone then you’re mean. Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure.”

“A bad man hurt my Mommy. I guess he didn’t like her very much, huh?”

Travis swallowed down the lump in his throat. What did he say to a statement like that? He decided to change the subject. He chose, “Do you like puppies?”

Bobby’s blue eyes got bigger, if that was possible, and a smile lit up his face. He nodded his head. “Daddy said he wants me to buy him a dog when I get rich. He’s gonna name it booger. But It’s gotta be green.” Bobby’s little frown over the last statement had Travis chuckling.